Carried Away PV: Alan Vanes Closed

George stood and listened to the other boy, an incredulous smile spreading across his face as he heard about Willow's plan. "Is that right? A fire sounds nice, and I quite like the taste of sugar," he agreed. Did wizards not have marshmallows? What did they roast above the fire instead? Perhaps they didn't have anything to roast over fires, as house elves and magic spells tended to their cooking and the serving of food, like they did at Hogwarts. It must be nice.

When Alan mentioned the cold, George could not help but laugh, lifting up the edge of his cloak and throwing it over Alan's shoulders. The other boy would likely have to squat a bit to stay underneath it, but it was warmer than the alternative, if he wished to stay. The idea about hot chocolate sounded good - the cold from the top of the owlery had worked its way through the ripped seams of his old clothing by now, even if he was shielded under a winter cloak.

"Where do you want to drink our hot chocolate? I'd invite you to the common room, but I'm afraid it's top secret. We don't allow the likes of you in there, Gryffindor," George said, with a wry smirk. "Hopefully somewhere warm."

It felt a bit strange to him that he would be missing the warmth of the Hufflepuff common room. Normally he was bored by the comfort of the nests of blankets and the gentle glow of the fire - it was all a bit too cozy for him, and people got too comfortable around each other in there. Uncomfortably comfortable, whatever that meant - it was too much, is all. But for now, all he wanted was to retire to somewhere where he could relax without worry. Hopefully Alan had a place in mind.

Calming Presence
@George Henry

Alan was caught by surprised when George moved quickly, lifting his cloak up and having it drape over Alan's shoulders and neck and it felt warm. He carefully took the cloak, holding it around him to make sure the newly found source of warmth did not leave him so soon as he crouched down ever so slightly to make it comfortable for the two of them to walk like this. A pleasant grin found itself onto his face and he had to fight the urge to just snuggle into the cloak, finally not feeling like he was turning to ice any longer. "Th-Thanks", he murmured slightly, glancing over at the other kid as they turned to walk down the steps together. They had to walk in the same tact, so Alan did his best to adjust to George's pace as they walked down the stairs, so that neither of them would face a problem to stay below the warmth of the winter cloak and Alan cursed himself to not having brought his own, but luckily George was kind enough to share.

Alan would snort in amusement at the proposition and the reason it was not actually possible. But thinking about it he never saw or heard an description of their common room before and wanted to at least see, if George would tell him something about it. "Th-The Hufflepuff Common Room? Wh-What is it l-like?", he asked curiously. He knew he would not enter it, but he was curious how it would look like and if it was anything like his common rooms. "I w-would offer the s-same with the G-Gryffindor Commons, b-but badgers a-aren't welcome there e-either", he returned it, equally playful with a light grin on his lips. But when he actually thought about the question, he could only hum in thought as he went through the possibilities. "Th-There is a c-corridor that is u-usually empty around th-this time and the w-windows have a n-nice view", he offered a place that would easily be accessible for the two of them. They were walking down the stairs in a steady pace, making it comfortable to continue chatting while making their way towards the kitchen.

George squirmed a bit underneath the cloak as he shared it with Alan, not used to sharing his blankets with anyone besides Jake, who was substantially smaller and more familiar than Alan. This didn't mean that it was unpleasant to share with Alan, of course. It was proper for him to do so - otherwise the poor Gryffindor would freeze, and that would likely lead to regretting that birthday invitation. George was determined to make sure that invitation paid off for Alan - he would return to Hogsmeade as soon as he could with his forged permission slip, finding the greatest, most exclusive gift to give him. None of the other first-years would be able to source such contraband. Thankfully, George himself was a master smuggler at this point.

"The Hufflepuff common room is, uh... well, it's... there's a lot of yellow stuff, and a plants. It's kind of like a burrow," he supposed, reaching back to scratch his neck. It was hard to describe without making it sound like a nice place, which George wanted to avoid. Unfortunately, honesty would have to win this time. He couldn't find any complaints to make about the room. The worst part about it was that it was full of Hufflepuffs. "It's kind of cozy. It's too bad you can't come in."

When Alan teased him back about not being welcome in the Gryffindor common room, George reached out and gave him a playful punch on the arm. Not hard enough to bruise or anything - just a little gesture to get the other boy to knock it off. Alan was older, anyway, he could take a punch from a nerdy first-year, right? He shrugged off the winter cloak at the same time as he gave the punch, leaving them both vulnerable to the cool air of the castle. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad in here as it had been in the Owlery. They could survive until they got their hot chocolate, at the very least.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go, then." And so they did, enjoying the rest of the afternoon in peace with two warm mugs of hot chocolate. George had even made a special request to the house elves to get them to put those little sugar pillow whats-its into their drinks, hoping to give the other boy a treat. And yes, they were definitely called sugar-pillows. George made that very clear.